Flue-cleaner.



' No. 69|,7|8.' Patented Ian/2|, I902.

' 0-. s. GOODFELLOW. FLUE CLEANEBQ (Applicstion fllqd May 22, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES S. GOODFELLOW, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

FLU E-CLEAN ER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691 ,718, dated January 21, 1902.

Application filed May 22, 1901. Serial No. 61,873. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES S. GOODFEL- LOW, a citizen of the United States, residing in Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inFlue-Cleaners; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the'same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple, convenient, and eifective means for clearing or removing from tubes or flues of boilers, and especially vertical boilers, incrustation deposited there by the products of combustion passing through the flu'es or tubes. Customarily in order to clean the tubes or flues of vertical boilers it is necessaryto introduce some scraping instrument into the tubes from the top of the boiler; but this is a tedious and laborious method and, besides, does not result in a thorough cleaning of the tubes. By using the contrivance which I will hereinafter particularly describe and claim access to the tubes may be had from thelower end thereof through the firedoor, and the deposit can generally be re.- moved without the necessity of any scraping of the tubes whatever. 7

Referring to the accompanying drawings, wherein corresponding letters of reference indicate like parts, Figure 1 is a view of a boiler, partly in section, showing my tube or flue cleaning contrivance in operative position. Fig. 2 is a view in side elevation of the main part of the contrivance, the same being shownpartly in section and as introduced into the end of a boiler-tube. Fig. 3 is a view of the end of the eontrivance, and Fig. 4 illustrates a: modified form of a detail of the invention.

In said drawings, a designates a boiler having the usual fire-space b and fire-door c, and (1 denotes the flues or tubes of the boiler.

e f designate two sections of piping, which are connected together at any angle by an elbow-joint g. The free end of the pipe-seetion f carries a coupling h, to which may be connccted'a flexible pipe or tube '5, which is in turn connected with some steam-pipe j, leading from the boiler a. The free end of the section e carries a nozzle it, having an appreciable taper toward each of its ends.

Z designates a cylindrical shell or sleeve which inoloses the pipe-section e and which has substantially the same length as said pipesection. At one end the sleeve is secured to the pipe-section by a spider m, while its other end (that adjacent the nozzle of the pipe-section) is held in place by another spider n, which is formed integral with it and which has a central orifice 0, whichfits over the free end of the nozzle. Itshould be remarked that the diameter of the sleeve Z is but slightly gresztcter than the greatest diameter of the nozzle p is simply a flange which is secured rigidly on the sleeve and acts as an abutment, against which the end of the boiler-tube being cleaned takes when the implement is in operative position, as seen in Fig. 1.

q denotes the handle, it being connected with the pipe-section f, preferably at an acute angle thereto, by means of a union r, which is adjustably fixed on the pipe-section by a set-screw s.

In operation, the flexible tubing 11 having steam. The action of the air is not only in sleeve at points next adjacent the inner surface of the tube or flue, points where it should be discharged in order to get the best results. The action just referred to is of course augmented by the tapering of the rear end of the nozzle.

Referring to the modification shown in Fig. 4, which is designed With a further object of augmenting the action of the air, the nozzle is formed with a series of external spiral ribs 15, the efiect of which will be to discharge the air through the tube or flue in currents of spiral form.

If desired, and with the object of forcing the steam and air through the tubes or flues in a series or succession of impulses, so as to facilitate theloosening action, a valve 26, having a handle it, may be provided, being arranged to control the passage through pipesection f.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a boiler tube or line cleaning appa ratus, the combination of a tubular structure adapted to be introduced at one end into the tube to be cleaned and to be connected at its other end with a source of steam, an air-conducting sleeve inelosing and carried by said tubular structure and open at the end thereof adjacent the discharge end of said tubular structure, a spider formed integral with the open end of said sleeve and fitted onto the discharge end of said tubular structure, and another spider spacing the other end of said sleeve and said tubular structure, substantially as described.

2. In a boiler tube or flue cleaning apparatus, the combination of a tubular structure adapted to be introduced at one end into the tube to be cleaned and to be connected at its other end with a source of steam, a nozzle on said first-nan] ed end of the tubular structure, an air-conducting sleeve inclosing said nozzle and open at both ends, and spiral ribs interposed between said nozzle and the sleeve, sub stantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 17th day of May, 1901.

CHARLES S. GOODFELLOVV.

Witnesses:

JOHN \V. STEWARD, ALFRED GARTNER. 

